Wildcat best in big victory

Finley Wildcats defender Eloise AshleyCooper had a stellar performance for the Murray Bushrangers in their 40 point win over Bendigo Pioneers in round two of the TAC Cup Girls competition at Bendigo on Saturday.

In warm, blustery conditions, AshleyCooper led the charge at half back to be named best on ground for the Bushies.

Kicking with the wind in the first term, the Bushrangers kept the Pioneers scoreless to take a 20 point lead into the first break.

The second quarter saw a lot of contested footy, but this didn’t stop the Bushrangers who, against the wind, continued delivering the ball to their forwards. Kicking with the wind, saw the Pioneers kick their first for the afternoon.

Text book footy was on display when Chelsea Hargreaves positioned herself front and centre in the goal square resulting in another goal for the Bushrangers, leading by 27 at the end of the second term.

An extended break at half time due to the warm conditions saw the Bushrangers start the third quarter like it was the first.

Despite a lot of pressure from the Pioneers, the Bushrangers managed to find the open spaces through their classy handball patterns and held the Pioneers scoreless once again.

Claudia McKimmie was marking strongly around the ground and kicked her third.

Sophie Damon continued to bring her teammates into the game and kicked a goal herself when she took a strong mark, wheeled around and played on.

Julia Harvey was busy in the middle and up forward kicking a goal.

The final term saw a lot of defensive pressure with Charli Boschetti being instrumental laying seven tackles.

The Pioneers added to the scoreboard with two goals and held the Bushrangers goalless, but it wasn’t enough as the Bushrangers prevailed by 40 points.

Final score, Murray Bushrangers 8.12 (60) to Bendigo Pioneers 3.2 (20).

The Murray Bushrangers take on eighth placed Gippsland Power in their round three match on Sunday.

The 2017/2018 season of Touch Footy in Finley has nearly come to an end with the grand final teams decided on Wednesday night.

Week 1 semis: The Elderly Elders fought hard with limited interchange, but came up short against the well drilled Eagle I Machinery in A grade, 4-3. Try scorers: Eagle I Machinery - Jed Brain 3, Eliza Browne 1; Elderly Elders - Paul Massingham 3.

Triple 0 showed no mercy for a depleted Yippee Try Yey team in B grade, running away with a 10-2 triumph. Yippee battled hard but slowly ran out of gas which allowed Triple 0 to reach double figures. Try scorers: Triple 0 - Shane Twemlow 3, Cameron Isedale, Greg Lawler, Elyse Price 2, Ross Twemlow 1; Yippee Try Yey - Jacob Armer, Rhett Armstrong 1.

Week 2 Semis: In A grade, young guns KSB Giants were rocked by the loss of Eloise Ashley-Cooper and Paige Nash over the holidays and haven’t been the same dominant force since the break. They tackled the form side of the competition, Nicky’s Teapot Cafe. The Teapots jumped out of the blocks taking a 4-1 lead into the break. An evenly played second half saw the Teapots hold the lead to qualify for the grand final, 6-3. Try scorers: Teapots - Lachlan Small, James Kennedy 2, Tristan Bird, Thomas McCarney 1; Giants - Matthew Wilson 2, Mitchell A’Vard 1.

The Teapots will face Eagle I Machinery in the A grade decider.

Triple 0 didn’t play to their potential but were still able to take advantage of an undermanned Untouchables side to book an appearance in their first grand final, winning 5-3. Try scorers: Triple 0 - Greg Lawler 2, Emily Ryan, Kylie Titlow, Shane Twemlow 1; Untouchables - Cody Danielson-Jensen 2, Tennyson Vance 1.

Yippee Try Yey were back to full strength as they tussled their way over the Fortitude Frames Steelers 4-3. Try scorers - Yippee Try Yey-Jacob Armer, Paul Clarke, Simon Fuller, Eli Sutton 1; Fortitude - Matthew Osbourne, Jamie Sharkie, Greg Whelan 1.

They will now contest Triple 0 in the B grade grand final for a record third straight premiership.

Both grand finals will be played tonight at the Finely Showgrounds with games commencing at 6pm.

A BBQ and refreshments at the Finley Golf Club will follow the games along with trophy and shield presentation.